Epilogue

EPILOGUE

ELODIE

Two Years Later

" H ow are you feeling?" I ask.

Ethan gives me a shaky smile. "I'm … I'm hanging in there."

"Everything is going to be all right. You know that, don't you?"

"I hope so."

It took more than a year for Ben to finally reach out to his father, but he eventually did. It was a few tentative emails in the beginning. That was followed by some texts. Eventually, they progressed to phone calls. Their relationship is still fragile, but they talk a lot more and seem to have gotten to a good place. Or at least, a better place. Their relationship has progressed to the point that Ben and his new girlfriend are coming for their first visit today. Ethan and I have planned a whole dinner for them, and he's been running around all day, more nervous than I've ever seen him. It's actually kind of adorable.

"Mam, your sauce smells amazing as usual," I call into the kitchen.

"Of course it does," she calls back. "It's the best sauce in the world. It has brought families together for centuries."

I roll my eyes but laugh, making Ethan grin as he sets the wine glasses out on the table.

"I heard you rolling your eyes, Elodie," Mam calls out.

"It's creepy that you do that," I call back.

"You should be used to it by now," Ethan said.

"I know, right?"

After everything that happened, I ended up moving back to Emerson to be with Ethan. He and I have our own house, which is just down the street from my grandmother's—something that made Mam very happy, of course. But it's made me happier than I ever thought I could be in this small town. Especially given how desperate I was to escape it in the first place. Two important things I've learned are that family is what you make it and home isn't a place. It's where your people are. And my people are here in Emerson. With Ethan and Mam here, I've come to realize that this place is my home.

In addition to celebrating Ethan's reunion with his son, we're also celebrating my first book being published. Once I moved back here, free of all the distractions, I devoted myself to my first novel and, much to my surprise, found a great agent who, in turn, found a fantastic publisher. I've heard nothing but horror stories about publishing, but this experience has been an absolute dream.

Ethan steps over and gently kisses my forehead.

"How are you doing?" he asks. "Thinking about what you'll say in your acceptance speech when you win your Pulitzer?"

"Wow. Setting those expectations pretty high, aren't you?"

"I am. But why not? Your writing is brilliant."

"You're biased."

"I am. But I also know good writing when I read it," he says. "And you should know me well enough to know I respect you enough to be honest with you."

That much is true. He can sometimes be brutally honest. But rather than hurt my feelings, it motivates me. I love that he respects me enough to not spout platitudes, but to give me honest feedback. I love that he supports me in every way he can and pushes me to excel. To be even better than I ever thought I could be. And I love that he is my biggest cheerleader. When I'm feeling down, he picks me up. He is always there for me to lean on. And he gives me a swift kick in the backside when I need it. He doesn't let me feel sorry for myself. For that and so much more, I'm thankful.

For the first time in my life, I feel like I've got a genuine partner. It's an amazing feeling. I've never felt so supported before. I've never felt so encouraged or cherished. And I've never felt so absolutely and unconditionally loved. I wake up next to this amazing man every morning feeling like I'm walking on air. I really do.

The doorbell rings and I share a look with Ethan. He clears his throat and quickly checks his clothing, smoothing out his shirt, and patting down his hair. I walk over, take his hand, and plant a soft kiss on his cheek. He's doing his best to hide it, but he's nervous.

"You look wonderful, baby," I say.

His smile is shaky. "Thanks."

"Are you ready?"

"Don't think I have much of a choice anymore."

"Fair point," I reply with a laugh. "Come on. Let's do this together."

Taking his hand in mine, I lead him over to the door and we open it to find Ben and a beautiful, dark-haired woman standing with him, hand in hand. There's a moment's pause and a crackling sense of anticipation in the air, but it's Ben, surprisingly, who breaks it by stepping forward and embracing his father. I cover my mouth with my hands and try to beat back the waves of emotion washing over me as I watch Ethan hugging his son with a look of absolute joy on his face.

I share a glance with Ben's girl, and she has a smile on her face that matches my own. She steps forward and offers me her hand.

"Hi. I'm Liz," she says. "And you must be Elodie."

"I am. It's nice to meet you."

"It's wonderful to meet you too."

We look at the two men who are still embracing and speaking in low tones to one another then turn back to each other. I can already see a difference in Ben. He is not the same man who stormed into my grandmother's house in what feels like a different lifetime.

"This has been quite the journey," I say.

"It really has."

Ethan finally steps back but puts his hands on Ben's shoulders and just looks at him. "It's really good to see you. Thank you for coming."

"It's good to see you too, Dad." Ben takes Liz by the hand. "This is Liz."

"It's lovely to meet you, Liz," Ethan says.

"It's nice to meet you too," she replies. "Ben has told me a lot about you."

"I'm sure he has," Ethan says with a grin. "But we're trying to move past all that."

They share a laugh and Ethan takes her hand, leading her into the living room where I see my grandmother greeting her. Ben and I stand in the foyer together, watching for a moment, and he turns to me.

"She's beautiful," I say. "And she's really nice."

"She is. She's helped me really take a hard look at myself, and I have to say, I didn't like what I saw," he tells me. "Liz helped me make a lot of changes."

"I can tell. You seem a lot happier and more settled."

"I am. And I needed to say that I'm sorry. For everything," he says. "I was an asshole to you. I was horrible. And I hope you can forgive me, but if you can't?—"

"Everything is forgiven, Ben. We're good."

"Yeah?"

I nod. "Yeah. We're good," I tell him. "I'm just glad to see you happy. I really am."

He gives me a shy smile. "Honestly, it feels good to be happy and not carry around all that anger anymore. I feel good."

"Well, happiness looks good on you."

"Thanks, Elodie. I mean it."

"Thank you," I tell him. "I don't think you know how happy you've made your dad."

"Well, that's a two-way street. I'm glad we're finally able to leave the past where it belongs—in the past."

"I think we all are."

We stand there looking at each other for a moment. There are times, less often now than before, when just how surreal this whole situation, this whole life, seems to me. The chain of coincidences that led us to this point still seems unreal. But it makes me believe there's some higher power at work—some universal force that led Ethan to me and Liz to Ben. We were all damaged people, but we all managed to heal each other. As strange and unlikely as this road has been, we've all somehow managed to find happiness. And that's a beautiful thing.

"Come on," Ben says. "Let's get a drink and I want to hear all about your book."

He puts his hand on the small of my back and leads me into the living room where everybody else is waiting. As Ben and Liz tell us the story of how they met, I lay my head on Ethan's shoulder and feel him slip his arm around my waist.

I don't know how we got here or what I did to deserve this kind of joy in my life, but I'm beyond grateful for it.